Heartless with a Heart
by adestiny
Summary: Ansem has always been the bad guy, cold and unfeeling. Can taking care of a cute little Heartless change that? Especially when the Heartless starts to grow? Possible Ansem x OC


Summary: Love can be a very dangerous thing. Especially when you aren't supposed to be able to feel it. This is the tragic tale of two Heartless and one Nobody, and none of them will ever be the same…

Pairings: One-sided Vexen x OC, Ansem x OC

Well, I'm finally getting this story up and running. Think of it as an… 'omniscient autobiography'.

_Chapter One: The New Heartless_

Long, long ago, in the faraway castle of Hollow Bastion, two years before the birth of the human Keyblade Masters, there was a great stir amongst the Heartless. This stir was caused by the unplanned creation of an entirely new species of Heartless.

There was only one. It was a successful failure. A new Heartless had been created, as was meant to happen, but the results of that Heartless had gone against all planning.

The first noticeable difference was that she was entirely white- the second was that she was only two inches tall and not at all suited for battle; no magic, no natural weapons, nothing.

Her fur was soft and fluffy. Her head was round, and there was a small, hardly noticeable point where her snout was, though no nose or mouth was visible. Her eyes were very big and round, as blue and sparkling as the Rising Falls, and they dominated her face. On either side of her head was a two-pointed ear. In the center of her forehead was a stalk that arched gracefully under the weight of the flower-bud-shaped bell that tinkled merrily at the end of it.

She had a very slender neck, and around it there was a pink ribbon, which made it invisible against her tiny, round, almost plump body (due to fur, not weight). She had two little arms that each ended in a three-clawed hand, though her claws were about as sharp as warm butter. Her legs were short and round, and her feet were rather long and oval-shaped with two toes. Her feet were always in front of her, as she never landed. Like a hummingbird, her large, flat, three-pronged wings were constantly flapping, and they emitted a fairly dust-like substance that helped her fly constantly and never tire. Her tail was just a pointed stump.

Unlike the unintelligible squeaks and squeals that the other Heartless emitted, she 'kyuu'-ed emotionally, and her intention could be heard in her tone.

She was adorable, even in the cruel eyes of Maleficent, and everyone wanted her to be their pet. However, Maleficent had a crow, Ursula had eels, Jafar had a parrot, Oogie had three little mischief-makers, Hook had a crew of pirates, Hades had a three-headed dog, and none of them had any time for another pet, much less a tiny little Heartless pet that could easily get lost or eaten by their other pets by mistake (or on purpose).

So the only other option was… _him._

No one wanted to think about leaving the innocent little thing with the King of Heartless, but he was the only one who didn't already have a pet… well, perhaps his guardian could be considered a pet, but it took care of itself. It was decided that they had a better chance (and a higher morale) if they all went to ask Ansem to take care of the Heartless.

Somehow, on the decided day, Hook had to go plunder treasure, Jafar had important vizier work to do, Ursula had to go back to the sea or else she'd dry out, Oogie needed to refill his sack with bugs as the other ones kept dying of fright, and Hades had to attend to some overflow or something in the underworld that sounded totally bogus. So that left Maleficent alone to face Ansem, who probably wouldn't be happy about a failed experiment, let alone having to take care of said experiment.

Fortunately, Maleficent usually seemed calm and powerful on the outside. But she wasn't sure how her front would hold up against Ansem's cold stare.

She wasn't sure leaving the little Heartless with him was a good idea. What if he mistreated her, or ignored her, or forced her into battle? But someone had to take care of her, and Ansem was the only available person.

Maleficent knocked on the door to Ansem's study apprehensively.

"It's open," he called from within.

Upon entering, Maleficent found that Ansem was hard at work on some new study. He was reading carefully over his notes and scribbling in new information occasionally.

He was distracted- that was good. If he didn't look her in the eye, she might get through this, and she might be able to trick him into taking care of the little Heartless.

"Ansem," she said, resisting the urge to stutter and shiver at his name, "My associates and I found a little Heartless the other day."

"Uh-huh…"

"She is not suited for combat or service…"

"So…?"

"She needs an owner. And, seeing as we are all occupied with our other pets, we cannot take care of her…"

"And you are expect me to?" Ansem finished for her.

"Yes," Maleficent said, relieved that she didn't have to ask.

"The answer is no," Ansem said simply.

Maleficent couldn't stop herself from protesting, though she knew it meant trouble. "But Ansem! Surely you cannot be serious… you have not even seen her! If you took the time to look-"

"The answer is no," Ansem repeated more firmly, fixing a harsh stare on Maleficent, his orange-amber eyes glowing with maliciousness at being disturbed from his studies. "Go, now. I'm tired of talking to you."

"But-"

"Do you need me to physically remove you from my work place, or can I trust you to find the door on your own?" Ansem snapped.

"_Kyuu!"_ came the frightened, yet bold, noise from atop Maleficent's staff. The little Heartless bravely flew forward and in front of Ansem's face. She looked at him, right in his brilliant, golden eyes with her own innocent blue ones. She was trembling, but she was determined.

"This is the Heartless in question, I presume?" Ansem said.

"Yes," Maleficent nodded, "She'd make a good pet, I'm sure of it…"

"I've already said no, and I stand by that," Ansem said, "I don't want to look like I'm going soft, and taking in this little creature would give me that appearance. That would lead to less respect, more uprisings… all of which would have to be squashed flat to reinstate the level of fearful respect that I have now. I daresay that no one wants any more rebellions… after all, I make no promises about who will live and who will die."

Maleficent understood the cleverly masked threat clearly. "Come," she said to the Heartless, "We'll just put you out in the streets… all alone… cold and wet and hungry… no one to take care of you… you'll just be all alone until the end of your very few days… such a shame, you're _soo_ cute…"

It was working. Maleficent's brazen attempts at pity were succeeding. She could almost feel Ansem's strong, cold, cruel front dissipating as his mind was forced to tumble over the horrible things that would befall the Heartless if he refused ownership over it.

"I hate you, Maleficent," he said with passion, "I hate you and everything you stand for. I hate that this Heartless can't fight or defend itself any more than a dog can give birth to kittens. I also hate the fact that you've managed to somehow push me into a corner. And I want to hate this Heartless with every fiber of my being, and someday I will. But for now… it can stay."

"It needs a name," Maleficent offered.

"Don't push it," Ansem shot back. "I said I'd babysit this little thing. I didn't say that I'd give it love or affection in the slightest, including giving it a name. If you want to call it by something, think it up yourself."

Maleficent looked at the little creature, which was 'kyuu'-ing happily at the fact that it had an owner. It didn't understand how cold Ansem was, despite the fire in his eyes.

"Avalon," Maleficent decided, thinking back to the early legends of King Arthur and his knights. The little ball of innocence looked at her questioningly, then 'kyuu'-ed. She seemed to understand.

Maleficent left; she had no desire to remain in Ansem's presence.

Avalon perched on Ansem's shoulder, and she was so light that he didn't even noticed, as he was already back into his studies. It was only when she rubbed against his bronze skin that he swatted her away, but she flew off before any contact could be made.

Avalon continually flew around Ansem's head, her wings humming softly as they continually flapped, even when she landed. Her bell rang every time she moved.

It was all very annoying for Ansem, who was trying his hardest to stay focused on his work. But that was difficult, with that accursed little Heartless buzzing around and 'kyuu'-ing at him.

He glared at her. "Go sit on the windowsill and be quiet," he ordered. Avalon looked a bit sad, but did as she was told and perched on the windowsill, watching the Rising Falls and her fellow Heartless dully.

This was boring! And whatever her owner was doing was boring to her, too! She wanted to play and be praised and stroked and retrieve things and do… _something_.

But Ansem didn't seem intent on any of that.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was really only about an hour or so, Ansem sighed and gave up on his books and notes and diagrams. He left the room, Avalon in hot pursuit, flying just above his left shoulder.

He stopped when he reached the Chapel, only one room away from his workplace. He looked at the large rose marking on the wall and put his hand on it. He uttered two words: "No heart."

The part of the wall occupied by the rose slid open, and Ansem stepped through the new hallway, Avalon following, of course.

This was fun. Well, maybe not _fun_, but they were doing something together that didn't involve sitting and doing nothing. And that was a lot more fun than what they'd just been doing, which was pretty much just sitting and doing nothing as far as Avalon was concerned. And the wall opened! _That_ was fun.

The hallway was lined with doors. Ansem opened one of them- the first on the right hand side- and stepped inside of it. Within there was a bed with cream-colored sheets, a light brown dresser, a beige bedside table with a lamp on it that had a lampshade made of stained glass, and there were a few windows.

The sun was just starting to set, and the beige/champagne color scheme in the room took the light well, making the room look quite beautiful and warm. Ansem took of his gloves, lab coat, and boots and put them away in his closet. He took of his shirt and pants, too, folded them, and put them in the dresser.

Avalon watched curiously. Why was Ansem shedding his skin? It wasn't hot or anything… and if he was going to shed, why not shed all of his discolored skin? He still had a length of black skin around his waist and part of his thighs that he didn't seem to intend to remove.

Maybe he forgot, Avalon decided. So she decided to 'help' him.

She flew around his waist once, then got a hold of the bottom of his boxers and tugged. Nothing. She went to tug harder, but Ansem quickly became aware of her efforts and shooed her away angrily.

He lied down on the bed and pulled the silk sheets over himself, yawning. He'd been working for two days now without sleep, and everyone- even an evil Heartless overlord- had to sleep some time.

Avalon, being only a little thing, also needed sleep. Ansem was out like a light almost the instant that he got the covers over him, so she didn't think that he'd mind her curling up and sleeping on his soft pillow, of which there were two. After all, he had a king-sized bed, and there was plenty of room for her, even if she had been larger than two inches tall and _maybe_ one inch around.

So she curled up on the silky pillow, yawned cutely, and fell asleep, her wings beating gently and softly coating Ansem with a layer of the sparkling dust that she manufactured by the buckets.

And for the first time in a long while, Ansem's dreams weren't haunted by the cold shadows and the dark memories of his own time as a little Heartless, before he'd become powerful. Instead, he had a dream of a warm light, vivid, yet pastel colors, a field full of flowers, a waterfall, the grassy bend of a river, a golden dragon with glittering scales like jewels…

And so, he was in a very bad mood the next day when he woke up. This was so, firstly, because he was forced back into his bleak existence, and secondly because he was covered in Avalon's fairy dust. Grumbling, he fumbled around in the dark for his usual outfit and headed for the shower. Avalon, of course, followed him, silent.

It was only when he was in the shower and reaching for the soap that he saw her soaking-wet body. Her fur lost all of its fluff and made her true, wire-thin frame visible. It wasn't a good look for her at all.

Naturally, Ansem didn't notice that at all. He was more concerned with her presence- not the condition of her appearance. Needless to say, she was literally thrown out of the shower, where she landed uncomfortably on the countertop because her wings were too wet to allow flight.

Now Ansem was in a _really_ bad mood. He finished showering unusually early, grabbed a towel, dried off, and wrapped the towel around his waist before stepping out of the shower. Avalon was still sitting on the counter like a plush toy, dripping wet, still in shock and trying to piece together how she had suddenly crashed to the countertop, as Ansem had moved so quickly that his arm hadn't even been visible.

Ansem got on his shirt and lab coat quickly, turned his back to Avalon, and got on the rest of his clothes. He blow-dried his hair and looked reproachfully at the three usual points. No matter what he did with his hair, these three points remained. Even when his hair was wet, they were present. He sighed and grabbed a black hair band, tying up his long, silvery mane into a ponytail- it had been a while since he'd worn it that way.

"_Kyuu!" _Avalon mewed, trying to get his attention. Water was still dripping from her fur, and she couldn't flap her wings because the water was making them too heavy. He looked at her, and she wiggled her little tail in an attempt at wagging it, though it was too stumpy and thick at the base for that.

"What do you want?" Ansem asked.

"_Kyuuuuuuu!" _Avalon whined, trying a bit harder to flap her wings.

"It's your fault," Ansem replied, "You shouldn't have been in the shower, let alone when I was in there!"

"_Kyuu?" _Avalon cocked her head cutely, or, at least, it would have been cute if she didn't look so haggard and skinny.

"Fine," Ansem sighed, "Since you look so awful, and since it won't cost me anything, I guess I'll dry you off."

He turned on the hair dryer again and directed its hot wind at Avalon, who grabbed onto the edge of the counter to keep from sliding across the slick marble. Her fur was now puffier than ever, and she looked like a large cotton ball. Ansem smoothed out her fur so she looked somewhat normal, and she purred at his touch.

"None of that," Ansem snapped, "No purring. I'm not being nice, understand? I just don't want some awful-looking little thing following me."

"_Kyuu," _Avalon nodded a bit sadly. She flapped her wings, discovered happily that they worked now, and was in the air in seconds, circling the bathroom.

Ansem left, she followed. Ansem went back to his study, she followed. Ansem sat. She sat. Ansem typed something on the computer. She pressed a few keys, earning herself a fierce glare, which she tried unsuccessfully to mimic. He read some notes and copied something down in black ink. She looked with confusion at the markings, dipped her paw into the black ink, and placed her paw on the paper just above the picture of a Heartless.

Ansem sighed, and she tried to sigh, but couldn't. "How am I supposed to get any work done with you playing copy-cat?"

"_Kyuu?" _Avalon cocked her head inquiringly, and this time it _was _cute. But any and all cute charm was lost on Ansem; he wasn't exactly fond of cute things, and if said cute thing was bothering him, he got rid of it without another thought. He would have gotten rid of Avalon the previous day if not for the pressure that Maleficent had dumped on his shoulders.

Ansem sighed again. "Never mind. Just… go sit and be still."

"_Kyuuuuuuu!" _Avalon protested. Sitting was boring! She wanted to be doing what Ansem was doing. She wanted attention, fun, games, playing! Why Ansem insisted on sitting and doing boring work, she'd never know. She continued to squeal until Ansem was on his last nerve.

"All right!" Ansem said suddenly, "I give up! If I throw a ball for you, will you leave me alone?"

Avalon thought about it. "_Kyuu," _she responded. Ansem opened the window, grabbed a stress-relieving ball from his desk, and through it out of the window. Avalon darted after it. He slammed the window shut and smiled with relief.

Sadly for him, he didn't know that Avalon had said 'no'.

Twenty minutes later, Avalon flew into the room, tired and flying erratically from the ball's weight. She dropped it on Ansem's desk and 'kyuu'-ed, expecting praise. Instead, Ansem looked frustrated.

"You just can't take a hint, can you?" he said in a frighteningly calm voice, "I'm busy, all right? I can't play with you. So please, just leave me alone so I can finish my work. If I manage to finish, then I promise that I will play with you… maybe. Probably… cough, cough, not, cough."

Avalon obediently sat down on the desk, scrambling off of papers as Ansem grabbed them. She kept moving around to keep out of his way. She eventually had to sit atop his computer monitor, the only desk space that was not covered by papers, 'soothing candles', the stress-relief ball, or a coffee mug with the words, "Life is short and annoying- death is long and boring," on the side.

She 'kyuu'-ed and went to sleep. Ansem glanced at her maybe once or twice, gave her a quick pat on the head when he was sure that no one was looking, and somehow managed to finish his work unexpectedly fast that day.

And so concludes Chapter One! Now review, please! I will add more when I have a total of four good reviews! Review Policy:

1) No swearing

2) No being mean to Ansem

3) Suggestions welcome

4) Don't hate on Ansem, insult his haircut, his voice, the whole "Darkness!" thing, or do anything that would otherwise cause the author to become obsessively angry with you and send a swarm of Heartless to your house to steal your heart and the hearts of all of your friends and family.

Thank you for heeding these warnings- I mean, guidelines.


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